Social Media as Customer Service: The Continued Evolution of Online Networking

Social Media as Customer Service: The Continued Evolution of Online Networking:

Consumers as a
collective tend to be a whole lot more powerful than they individually realize.
If enough people want the same thing, they can literally change everything
about your brand: from the way your product works to the goals you were trying
to achieve to the product or service you were releasing in the first place.

They can also
change the shape of the social networking revolution, too. And they have - in a
big, bold way.

The Era of Social Support:

Social
networking may have started as a way to essentially send commercials to people
on their mobile phones, but it's long since become something much more
important. Consider the following statistics:

●According to that same study, nearly two thirds
of all consumers now say that they use sites like Facebook and Twitter to seek
resolution for problems that they may be encountering.

●Almost 70% of consumers who responded
to a survey said that they have used social media sites for issues having to do
with customer service on at least one occasion during their relationship with a
brand.

●Most importantly, customers who engage with
companies on social media (and see those companies respond) tend to spend 20 to
40% more money than those who do not.

So what does
this tell us? If anything, it confirms that social networking is a two-way
street. People are willing to pay attention to the targeted advertisements that
you send them if they know that they're getting something in return.

But that
"something in return" needs to be more than just the
"opportunity" to part with some of their hard-earned money. They need
to know that you'll be there for them if they need you. They need to know that
you see them as people and not just line items on a balance sheet.

Pivoting your
social media arm to act as one part marketing, one part customer service
enterprise is therefore the best way to accomplish exactly that.

Never forget
that this goes far beyond just making that initial purchase as easy as
possible. To truly unlock the full potential of these implications, you need to
go a fair bit deeper than that.

Make no
mistake: this is what the people want. Failing to live up to your end of this
bargain will only ultimately do your customers, your brand and everything
you've worked so hard to build up to this point a massive disservice.

Create Collateral With This Mentality in Mind:

Much of this
comes down to a shift in perspective: you need to stop thinking about customer
service for what it is traditionally used as and more about what your audience
actually wants it to be. Sure, sending out a quick tweet or creating a Facebook
post about some impending product launch is a good way to get the word out...
every once in awhile.

But throughout
the course of the average day, social media can and should be a whole lot more
than this.

This extends
not just to how your brand is using social media networks like Facebook or
Twitter, but also the types of content and other collateral that you're
specifically creating for these sources.

Use Infographics or Presentations created with a
tool like Visme (which, for
the sake of full transparency, I am a founder of) to get to work on a little
"proactive customer service" as often as possible. Don't wait for
your audience to have a problem and then hope that they come to you - address
challenges before people have a chance to actually encounter them and you'll
come out all the better for it.

Take a look at
this eBook that we created called "How to Make an Infographic," for
example. Throughout the course of this guide, we dive deep into the 13
different types of Infographics that are available for you to use today. Some
formats lend themselves naturally to selling, sure - but that's only a small
fraction of their true potential.

Instead of
creating Infographics that are little more than glorified commercials, build
collateral that answers questions before your audience has a chance to ask
them. Solve problems before they encounter them. Don't be afraid to go into
deep detail about not what someone might want your product for today, but what
it can also be used for tomorrow that they may not have even realized.

Onward and Upward:

This is the
true art of social media as customer service. It's about continuing to use
social media as a communication mechanism long after that initial purchase has
been made.

It's about
showing your audience that you care about them as people and that you're
invested in their own success. More than that, it's about stating clearly that
you'll be by their side every step of the way and that you truly want their
lives to be better after they've entered into a relationship with your brand than
it was before that relationship started.

If you can
master this (and practice what you preach day in and day out), you'll have
something a whole lot more powerful than just a way to communicate with any
member of your target audience with just a few quick taps of your finger.

You'll have the
foundation of a true relationship in every sense of the term. A relationship
that will serve both you and your audience members well for years to come.

About the Author:

Payman Taei is the founder of Visme, an easy-to-use online tool to create
engaging presentations, infographics,
and other forms of visual content. He is also the founder of HindSite Interactive, an
award-winning Maryland digital agency specializing in website design, user
experience and web app development.

Social Media as Customer Service: The Continued Evolution of Online Networking
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